Insurgent- From Tobias'Four's POV
by hollythefangirl123
Summary: The seconds book from Veronica Roth's amazing Divergent Trilogy written from Four/Tobias' point of view. I hope you like it! Please rate and review:)
1. Chapter 1

She wakes with a look of fear present on her face. Her eyes are squeezed tightly shut and her lips clamped together in a narrow line. I recognise that she must have awoken from a nightmare. I would know, I've had thousands in the past. Only, the man terrorizing my dreams is stood merely a few feet away from me. _Marcus_. I cannot even contemplate why God allowed Tris' loving parents to die and yet allowed him to live. The very thought disgusts me.

I crouch down beside her and carefully place my hand on her shoulder. I don't ask her about the nightmare, she wouldn't want me to. Besides, it was most likely about her parents anyway. "Tris, come on," I say softly. "We have to jump." I take her arms and gently help her to her feet before guiding her to the doorway.

Everyone jumps in turn. Peter, Marcus, Caleb. I take her hand. Her shoulder must be hurting an awful lot and I know she needs all the help she can get. 3...2...1, I count to myself before we launch ourselves from the train's ledge.

I land with ease. Obviously. I've been doing this for years now. The others have more difficulty. Tris, with the bullet still stuck in her arm, is fending off tears. Though, to my surprise, she finds her feet and goes over to Caleb to check he's okay. I don't know why I expected anything different, her Abnegation's showing again.

We land in the field near the fence. I lift my head to see the huge gate towering over us is currently locked. There's no way over, no way around and no way through. We're trapped. "There are supposed to be Dauntless guards here, where are they?"

It's Marcus who speaks. I want to hit him. He hasn't said anything wrong but the growing urge punch him in the jaw is building up on me. _Stop it, _I think to myself, _that won't solve anything._

"They were probably under the simulation," I say after a moment. "And are now..." I stop. I have no idea where they could possibly be. "Who knows where, doing who knows what."

We successfully stopped the simulation and Tris has the hard drive in her pocket, but we know little of the aftermath. We have no idea what happened to our friends, our leaders, our own factions. We have little way of knowing what happened, yet.

After brief moment of silence, something occurs to me. I stride over to the keypad by the gate and open it up. "Let's hope the erudite didn't think to change this combination," I say, tapping in the numbers I recall being correct. I wonder if it's incorrect. I don't have a chance to ponder though, as the gate clicks open in response.

"How did you know that?" Caleb asks.

"I worked in the Dauntless control room monitoring the security system. We only change the codes twice a year."

"How lucky," he replies warily.

"Luck has nothing to do with it, I only worked there because I wanted to make sure I could get out," I say, looking at him levelly. It's the truth. I hate the idea of being trapped. Like all those times I was trapped in the tiny coat closet before one of Marcus' beatings. I clench my hands into fists beside me. _Calm down_. I tell myself. _He can't hurt you anymore._

We walk on through the gates. Tris and I take the lead, side by side, walking silently. I'm surprised she's not crying. Caleb is. I see him lift his hand to wipe his cheek every few seconds. I glance at her. She looks miserable. She looks tired and hurt and all I want to do is to comfort her and cradle her and reassure her that everything will be okay. But I don't know how.

After a few more moments of distressed silence, I see the Amity headquarters a little further in the distance. We continue on, through the orchard. The sweet smell of rotting apples reminds me how hungry I am. I could really do with some Dauntless cake right about now. We are nearing our destination when Marcus speaks again. "I know where to go."

He leads us on past a few of the buildings and the greenhouses surrounding us. It feels so strange being outside of the dim halls of Dauntless. I don't like it. We enter a building eventually and Marcus stops us outside an open room. A lady sits inside. "Oh thank God," she says as she sees Marcus, coming over and embracing him with a touch to his shoulders. She has a lisp. "The other members of your party got here a few hours ago, but they weren't sure if you had made it."

She must be talking about the other Abnegation. She looks over Marcus' shoulder and examines each of us in turn; me, then Caleb, then Tris, then Peter. "Oh my," she says, her eyes catching Peter's blood soaked clothes. "I'll send for a doctor. I can grant you all permission to stay the night, but tomorrow, our community must decide together... And"- she looks at me, then to Tris, then back to me. "-they will likely not be enthusiastic about a Dauntless presence in our compound. I of course ask you to turn over any weapons you might have."

I sigh deeply and hand over my gun. But before Tris can hand over hers, I grab her wrist firmly to ensure she keeps it attached to her back. I realise how suspicious that would've seemed so I take her hand in mine to cover up what I just did.

"My name is Johanna Reyes," she says holding out her hand to Tris, then to me. That was a dauntless greeting.

"This is T"- Marcus begins, but I get in quick. I don't want them to know my name. It binds me to Marcus and I don't want the Abnegation associating him with me.

"My name is Four," I say, ignoring the look Marcus gives me. "This is Tris, Caleb and Peter."

"Welcome to the Amity compound," she says with a smile, "let us take care of you."

I go with Tris to see the nurse who gives her a salve to help her shoulder heal before Johanna escorts us off to the cafeteria. And there they all are. The Abnegation who sit at the long rows of wooden tables get up to greet us. And to my utter disdain, they greet Marcus especially fondly. I don't let myself get angry though, especially not with Tris clutching on to my arm. A second later, one of the Abnegation comes over to us and offers Tris a hot cup of pink liquid. "Drink this. It will help you sleep as it helped some of the others sleep. No dreams."

She looks at it for a second, apprehensively, before downing the stuff with a few gulps. I stand in silence as I feel her loosen her grip on my arm. "Do you know where she'll be sleeping tonight?" I ask one of the Amity.

"Yes, follow me."

I put my hands firmly around her waist and lead her to the room. "Thankyou," I say to the Amity before opening the door and leading her inside. I pull back the yellow duvet cover and gently lift her onto the bed. "Goodnight beautiful," I whisper, pulling the duvet over her and tucking her in. I brush back her hair softly and plant a kiss on her forehead. She looks so peaceful when she's asleep. Her eyes closed, her lips slightly parted. She looks like a teenage girl again. Not the girl I've seen today with heavy eyes and a sad expression written all over her face._ I love you Tris._ I think to myself. _I love you so much and I'm sorry I let them hurt you._


	2. Chapter 2

**I wasn't sure if anyone would like this to be honest but I'm glad I have gotten (as little as it is) two good reviews so I shall continue. Feel free to give me advice and requests for upcoming chapters. Thankyou for reading!**

I wake up to the faint sound of playful laughter from outside my window. I sigh deeply and stretch before peering between my curtains to find the source of the noise.

_Children._

They wear brightly coloured red and yellow outfits and are playing what looks to be a game of hide and seek. I know I shouldn't but I can't help wonder if Tris and I will ever have kids. I mean we haven't even _done_ _it _yet but I can't help my mind wandering into the future. _Would I be a good dad? Would I be able to keep my temper at bay? _But then something dreadful hits me, giving me a horribly sickly feeling in the pit of my stomach. _Would I be anything like my own father?! Stop it Tobias. _I tell myself firmly. _You are nothing like him._

Suddenly the chatter stops and I realise the children have noticed me looking. I curse beneath my breath before pulling the curtains back in place. Right. I need to see Tris.

I clamber out of bed to find that someone has left a startlingly red polo shirt at the foot of my bed. Do I have to wear _that_? It's only when I reach the bathroom mirror when I realise I really do have to wear that. My own black Dauntless shirt is a little bloody from Tris' wound and smells of stale sweat. I soon decide that it would be best to change.

When I deem myself looking respectful, I make my way to Tris' place and knock softly on the door.

"Come in," she says , her voice hoarse with sleep.

I push open the door and slip half into the room. _Why did I come here again? _I soon realise the only reason I came here was to see her face. "The Amity are meeting in half an hour," I say, I quirk my eyebrow and lower my voice "_to decide our fate_."

She ducks her head and the corners of her mouth turn up a little. "Never thought my fate would be in the hands of a bunch of Amity," she says.

"Me either." I suddenly remember something I'd found in my rooms first aid kit last night. "Oh, I brought you something," I say, pulling the tiny bottle out from my pocket and handing her the dropper. "Pain medicine. Take a dropperful every six hours."

"Thanks," she murmurs, taking the dropper and squeezing it into her throat.

I suddenly feel a little awkward. I desperately want to comfort her but I have little idea how. I want to kiss her and cuddle her and make her feel special.

Instead, I cross my feet uncomfortably and hook my thumb into my empty belt loop. "How are you, _Beatrice_?" I cringe as it comes out of my mouth.

She raises her eyebrows, "did you just call me _Beatrice_?"

"I thought I would give it a try," I grin. "Not good?"

"Maybe on special occasions only. Initiation days, Choosing Days..."

"It's a deal." _What are you doing? _I ask myself. _You came here to comfort her not to mess around_. I let the corners of my mouth drop. I allow myself to ask the question I'd been avoiding, "how are you, Tris?"

I watch as her shoulders drop and she hunches forward. "I'm ... I don't know, Four. I'm awake. I..."

Just the fact she called me Four and not Tobias tells me I shouldn't have asked. I sigh and kneel down beside where she's perched at the end of the bed. "I know," I say softly, bringing my hand to her cheek and pressing my lips to hers. She wraps her hand around my bicep in response. "I shouldn't have asked," I murmur against her cheek. She doesn't respond so I pull back and make my way out of the room, "I'll let you get ready."

I walk out of her room and wander around the halls aimlessly. I wish I could make everything better. I wish none of this had happened. I think back to our first kiss by the chasm. I think back to when I took her through my fear landscape. I think back to when we kissed in front of _everyone_ at the banquet. I can't help the longing feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I end up going to the cafeteria and grabbing myself some food before bringing Caleb along with me to fetch Tris. As much as I try, I can't help but get irritated by Caleb. His constant questioning is beginning to annoy me. I think the thing that irritates me most is that many of his questions focus on me and I can't help but breathe a sigh of relief when we make Tris' door.

_Oh my._ I think to myself as she opens the door. Tris' usually long, dirty blonde hair has been cut off just past her jaw. I can't help but gape at her. She looks..._ beautiful_.

"You cut your hair," stays Caleb, his voice reflecting the surprise I feel.

"Yeah," she says casually, leaning against the doorframe. "It's... too hot for long hair."

"Fair enough."

When we make it outside I'm a little overwhelmed with the strong smell of leaves and flowers. It's a little too strong for my liking and an utter contrast from the familiar smell of the Dauntless corridors.

"Does everyone know you're Marcus's son?" Caleb asks. _Not another one. _I glance at him sideways. "The Abnegation, I mean?"

"Not to my knowledge, and I would appreciate it if you didn't mention it," I say rudely.

"I don't need to mention it. Anyone with eyes can see it for themselves," he shoots back.

I know. As much as it pains me to say it, I look like my father. We have the same deep blue eyes and the same dark hair. Luckily that's where the similarities end. I. Am. _Not_. My. Father.

He turns his head to look at me and gives me a look. "How old are you anyway?"

I know what he's thinking. I'm two years older and her ex Dauntless-trainer. I understand why he'd think this was strange. I still don't like it though. He probably thinks I'm not taking this at all seriously or using her or something like that. "Eighteen," I say casually.

"And don't you think you're too old to be with my little sister?"

I suddenly feel a pang of jealously as I let out a short, hostile laugh. "She isn't _your _little anything."

"Stop it. Both of you," Tris says warily.

Suddenly, a large group of Amity (dressed entirely in yellow) come out from around the corner and take the lead in front of us. We follow them into the greenhouse ahead. The amity begin to sit down on the floor giving us a better view of where we are. The greenhouse is huge and in the centre sits an enormous tree with winding branches and large roots. Stood on the cluster of roots is Johanna Reyes. I glance to my left and see the Abnegation sat in a cluster. This is how they decide on things here. Everything. They vote. I can't imagine that ever working in Dauntless.

I notice Tris to the left of me looking out into the group of Abnegation and it's almost as if I can hear her thoughts. Her eyes are clouded over with tears and I know she's looking for her parents. I gently put my hand against the small of her back and guide her behind the group of Abnegation. I wish I could cheer her up a little. I want the old Tris back. I want _my _Tris back. So before we sit, I pull her closer and whisper softly into her ear, "I like your hair that way."

There's so much more I want to say. I want to tell her how special she is and how much I love her. I want to tell her she's the best thing that's ever happened to me. Yet now doesn't seem to be the right time.

She forces out a small smile and connects her lips with mine. I get a pleasant yet nervous tingling in my fingertips and the butterflies return to my stomach. I haven't felt them in a while.

The moment doesn't last though as the room suddenly falls to a hush. We pull back as I slip an arm around her waist. I wish we were alone. I wish we were back in Dauntless. I wish everything was as simple as it was before.

"We have before us today an urgent question," Johanna says loudly. "Which is: how will we conduct ourselves in this time of conflict as people who pursue peace?

Suddenly, to my annoyance, the Amity around us begin talking. And quite loudly as well.

"How do they get anything done?" Tris says.

I look around at the people before me. "They don't care about efficiency," I say . "They care about... _agreement_. Watch."

Tris and I watch in silence as the chatter continues. Gradually, the small conversation groups come together to form bigger ones, and bigger ones. The chatter slowly dies down and soon only a few voices are heard around the room. _Amazing_. I didn't think it was so simple.

"This is bizarre." It's Tris who speaks.

I don't respond for a moment, my eyes fixed on the crowd before us. "I think it's ...beautiful."

I turn my head to face her as she gives me a look. A smile plays on my lips. "What?" I laugh. " They each have an equal role in government; they each feel equally responsible. And it makes them... care. It makes them kind. I think that's beautiful."

I can tell she disagrees as she gives me another look. "I think it's unsustainable," she murmurs. "Sure, it works for the Amity. But what happens when not everyone wants to strum banjos and grow crops? What happens when someone does something terrible and talking about it can't solve the problem?"

I smile a little. I love the way we agree on so little, yet we still both love each other so much. I shrug, "I guess we'll find out."

A little while later, some of the people from the crowds of Amity go up to talk to Johanna. They speak quietly in hushed tones. I hope they let us stay. Just for now anyway. I want Tris to be safe.

"They're not going to let us argue with them are they?" she says quietly.

"I doubt it."

Finally, they seem to have come to a decision. Johanna now stands alone in the centre of the greenhouse, her arms folded, her lips set firmly in a straight line. Things don't look too good.

"Our faction has had a close relationship with Erudite for as long as we can remember. We need each other to survive, and we have always cooperated with each other," she says. I guess we'll have to find somewhere else to stay. "But we have also had a strong relationship with Abnegation in the past, and we do not think it is right to revoke the hand of friendship when it has for so long, been extended." Something in me relaxes. I have no intention of staying here long-term. _We_ have no intention of staying here long-term. "We feel that the only way to preserve ships with both factions is to remain impartial and uninvolved. Your presence here, though welcome, complicates that." _I guess we have to leave then _... "We have arrived at the conclusion that we will establish our faction headquarters as a safe house for members of all factions, under a set of conditions." I knew it. Conditions. Everything has conditions. "The first is that no weaponry of any kind is allowed on the compound. The second is that if any serious conflict arises, weather verbal or physical, all involved parties will be asked to leave. The third is that the conflict may not be discussed, even privately, within the confines of this compound. And the fourth is that everyone who stays here must contribute to the welfare of this environment by working. We will report this to Erudite, Candor, and Dauntless as soon as we can."

I watch carefully as her stare drifts over to Tris and I. "You are welcome to stay here if and only you can abide to the rules. That is our decision."

_EURGH_. That's the first thought that comes to mind. We're already going against one of the rules by keeping Tris' gun in her room and I'm almost certain that we'll get ourselves into some kind of conflict before we leave. I can imagine it involving Marcus and I. Or Peter and Tris. I don't know. The only thing I do know is that we won't be here at all long.

Then, as if she is reading my very thoughts Tris speaks, "we won't be able to stay here long," she murmurs.

My face drops completely, "no, we won't."


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi, um sorry this one is a little late. I've been putting this off for a few days now and I just spent ages watching 3 episodes of the vampire diaries ill in bed. Anyway, I hope you like it! Sorry if it's not too good. Please R/R thank you :)**

That evening, just as my head hits the pillow, I get a knock at the door. I sigh loudly before reluctantly peeling off the covers, sacrificing my warmth. _Tris_.

"Hey."

I was wrong. It's Caleb. _What does he want now? I hope it isn't any more questions._ "What's up?" I say stifling a yawn.

"Can I uh... can we talk?"

I look at him warily. _Do we have to? _"What's up?"

"Well.. can I come in?" he says.

_Just let him in. _I tell myself, stepping aside. He steps in awkwardly. "I just wanted to get some things straight, Four," he says firmly.

I can't help the grin that spreads across my face. His attempt to be authoritative is amusing. "Oh is that right?"

"Yeah... I, personally, don't like you being with my little sister-."_Is he being serious?! _

I cut him off. "Our relationship has nothing to do with you, Caleb. You've known me what? A day now?"

He gives me a long look. "You didn't let me finish. I was _going _to say, that since I can't do anything about it, I just wanted to make sure you weren't just messing around, you know? I think... I _know_ she cares about you."

I let myself relax a little. I know she cares about me, I care about her too. And me hating her brother won't help that. I take a step closer to Caleb and look him firmly in the eyes. "Hey listen. I'm not messing around, Caleb. I love your sister... I'm _in love_ with your sister. I would die for her, Caleb. She's about all I have left. Trust me."

I watch as he lets out a sigh of relief and nods quickly. "Yeah, okay... "So how'd you two meet?"

"I was her trainer," I say calmly, taking a seat on my bed. "I noticed she was different from the others and I... well I realised that I... I liked her a lot." Heat rises to my cheeks as I find myself blushing. _Why am I embarrassed?_

"Different, how?"

"Well the first day we met, I noticed she asked a lot of questions, for an Abnegation anyway. I also noticed how brave she was. She... once in training, we were practising throwing knives and Eric-..."

"Eric?"

"A dauntless leader. He tried to make this kid stand there, in front of the target whilst I threw knives at it and Tris volunteered to take his place."

I watch as his eyes widen with curiosity and surprise. "And..."

I quickly decide telling him that I purposely hit her in the ear won't go down too well. "Well she's alive isn't she?" I say with a grin.

He smiles back at me quickly. "Show me?"

"_You _want _me _to show you how to throw?" I scoff.

"Yup."

I can't help but laugh. "I didn't have you down as the fighting type, Caleb." I go over to the table and pick up the butter knife from breakfast. "We need a target," I say.

He looks around briefly "the cheese."

I nod, take the cheese and put it on top of the dresser. "Right. So watch me." I say, sitting down against the wall opposite. I take the knife and effortlessly hurl it at the 'target'. "You wanna go?"

He nods. "Yeah."

He yanks the knife from the cheese and comes over to stand next to me. I watch as his eyes squint in concentration before he throws the knife clumsily at the cheese. It misses of course.

"Not like _that," _I laugh.

He shoots me a glare. "What do you mean, 'not like that'? I imitated you perfectly," he protests.

"You did not."

"Well, do it again then," he says, taking the knife and dropping it on the floor beside me.

I throw it again, just as I did before. I suddenly hear the click of the door opening. Tris.

"Tell me he's some kind of Dauntless prodigy," he says to Tris. "Can you do this too?"

"With my right hand, maybe. But yes, _Four_ is some kind of Dauntless prodigy." _Four_. My eyes shoot to hers. "Can I ask _why _you're throwing knives at cheese?"

I rest my head against the wall and turn to look at her. "Caleb came by to discuss something," I say vaguely. "And knife-throwing just came up somehow."

The corners of her mouth turn up a little allowing a small smile. "As it so often does."

For a moment we just look at each other. I look at her as I wonder why she came by to see me. I look at her as I realise quite how much I want to be touching her. I look at her as she looks back at me. We look at each other.

Suddenly, Caleb clears his throat. I realise maybe we'd be staring at each other for a second too long.

"Anyway, I should be getting back to my room," he says, his eyes flickering between the two of us. "I'm reading this book about the water-filtration systems. The kid who gave it to me looked at me like I was crazy for wanting to read it. I think it's supposed to be a repair manual, but it's fascinating..." he pauses. Perhaps because he realises we don't particularly care. "Sorry. You probably think I'm crazy too."

"Not at all. Maybe _you _should read that repair manual too, Tris. It sounds like something you might like," I say with mock sincerity.

"I can loan it to you," Caleb says, oblivious.

"Maybe later," she says.

Once Caleb's gone, I allow myself to smile. She shoots me a glare. "Thanks for that. Now he's going to talk my ear off about water filtration and how it works. Though I guess I might prefer that to what he wants to talk to me about..."

"Oh and what's that?" I ask, quirking an eyebrow. "Aquaponics."

"Aqua-what?" she says.

"It's one of the ways they grow food here. You don't want to know."

"You're right I don't," she says quickly. "What did he come to talk to you about?"

"You." I say casually. "I think it was the big-brother talk. 'Don't mess around with my sister' and all that." I get up.

"What did you tell him?" she asks.

I step towards her. I desperately want to close the space between us. "I told him how we got together- that's how knife throwing came up. And I told him I wasn't messing around." I desperately want to close the space between us and before I'm aware of what I'm doing, my arms wrap around her hips and I press her against the door. I have no idea what I'm doing but she doesn't seem to notice. My lips quickly find hers.

Her arm wraps around me and I feel her cold fingers slide beneath my top creating a trail of goose bumps where her hand meets my skin. I feel tingly inside and despite my nerves, I find myself kissing her more insistently.

Suddenly, through the blur, something comes to me. _Why did she come here in the first place? _I pull back but her hand stops me from getting far. "This isn't what you came for," I say breathlessly.

"No."

"What did you come for then?"

"Who cares?" she says pulling me close again.

Her hand finds my hair and for a second all I want to do is ignore it and kiss her again but I'm determined to find out why she's here. And as much as I don't want to, I stop. "Tris," I mumble.

"Okay, okay," she says.

I find her hand and lead her over to the bed. I sit silently as she tells me of how she overheard Marcus and Johanna talking. _Marcus. I hate Marcus. I hate talking about him and I hate that he's here with us. _I suddenly realise that she's stopped speaking.

"Well, what do you think?" she asks.

"I think," I say slowly. "That it's Marcus trying to feel more important that he is."

Honestly, I have no idea if what he's saying is true or not but I'd like to think that it's not. I don't want Tris to trust Marcus.

"So... what? You think he's just talking nonsense?"

"I think there is probably some information Abnegation knew that Jeanine wanted to know but I think he's exaggerating its importance. Trying to build up his own ego by making Johanna think he's got something she wants and he won't give it to her."

"I don't..." she frowns. "I don't think you're right. He didn't sound like he was lying."

It frustrates me a little how easily she trusts him. I purse my lips sourly, "you don't know him like I do. He's an excellent liar."

"Maybe you're right," she says. She continues hesitantly, "but shouldn't we find out what's going on? Just to be sure?"

I don't want to deal with this right now to be honest. I have more important things to think about. "I think it's more important that we deal with the situation at hand," I say. "Go back to the city. Find out what's going on there. Find a way to take Erudite down. Then maybe we can find out what Marcus was talking about, after this is all resolved, okay?"

She nods slowly in response though I can tell she's not going to take my advice. I can see in her eyes that she's not on board. I know her better than she thinks.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4! Sorry about the delay, I lost my book about 6 times trying to write this. Hope you all like it! Feel free to leave a review, thankyou x**

I wake up startled from the nightmare I'd awoken from. I look around me a moment, just to make sure the dream I'd been having was in fact a figure of my imagination. _He's not here, Tobias_. I tell myself, taking a deep breath to reduce my desperately shaky breathing.

I sit up in the bed to realise the sheets are damp with sweat. I sigh and run a hand through my hair to realise my hair is just as damp as the sheets below me. It's not usually this bad. Admittedly, the memories still haunt my dreams regularly, but it seems last night was worse than usual. Perhaps it's to do with the fact that he's here with us again. In Dauntless, the only consolation I could allow myself was the fact that he was miles away from me in Abnegation. Far away, too far away to hurt me again. I wish I could stand up to him. I wish I could, but I can't. Only in the darkest and most vulnerable parts of my mind, I allow myself to admit that I'm still afraid of him. I want people to know what he's done. I want the wipe the admiration they offer him, from the faces of the clueless Abnegation. If only they knew that his son, the one known in Dauntless as "fearless", tosses and turns in his bed at night from all of the childhood memories he'd provided him with. The memories he'd provided _me _with. I hate him more than ever.

I allow myself to calm down before groggily making my way to the bathroom. After I've showered and shaved and combed my hair into submission, I take a few moments tojust..._ breathe_. No one would believe, not even Tris, that one horrible nightmare would be able to break me down. Maybe it's because they don't get it. They don't understand that the physical pain, the fighting and the training, that's nothing compared to the emotional pain I deal with from my memories and all to often in my dreams.

I'm lying face down on the bed when I get a loud knock on the door, successfully interrupting my train of thought. I sigh deeply and make my way to the door. "Who is it?" I ask, fearful that Marcus may be waiting for me behind the door.

"I'm just here to pass on a message," the voice says. It does not belong to Marcus.

I open the door a crack and stick my head out. "Yes?"

The person I'm faced with is small both in height and weight. She looks to be about 14. "You and several others are on cleaning duty in the kitchen in 10 minutes. I just called round to let you know you must be ready," she says.

I want to thank her but the lump in the back of my throat remains and I know if I opened my mouth. I'd burst into tears. No one can see me cry. I think the only people who've seen me cry are my father and mother. Letting anyone see me cry would allow them to pity me. And if people pity me, I will be vulnerable. I can't allow that to happen.

The girl walks off a little confused and I close the door quietly. _Cleaning duty. _We never had to do any cleaning in Dauntless and I don't think I want to. My room back in Dauntless was a mess but the only people who I ever allowed in were Tris and Uriah anyway. The rest of Dauntless was kept tidy by the cleaners.

Once the 5 minutes is up, I pull on my shoes and head out. I'm tempted, as I pass it, to knock on Tris' door and ask if she's okay. But before I have the chance, I see the Abnegation walking out of their rooms to go the kitchens and I decide I'll just wait till later.

I expect there to be at least 10 of us in the kitchen, but when I walk in, I realise there are only 5 of us, and I seem to be the last one.

"Hi, I'm Catherine and I'm an Amity. We are here today to clean. Everyone in Amity is required to help out once in a while and since you staying with us, you are required to help out too. I'll allocate you your jobs for toda-."

She's cut off by the squeaking of the kitchen door being opened. My heart drops to the floor when I see who it is. _Marcus. _He strolls in and offers us an apology for being late. Then another for interrupting her. He comes and stands by me and actually has the _cheek _to put his arm around me.

Every part of me tenses at his touch and I quickly brush of his hand and step slightly away from him. I glance to my right to see a smug grin plastered upon his face. A strange uneasy feeling makes its presence inside of me and I don't know if I want to punch the grin from his face or break down and cry. I think maybe it's both. Either way, I hold it in.

"What was I saying? Oh yes, that's right. I was saying that I will be allocating your jobs for today. I'll need two to help with washing the dishes, two to help mop up any mess and the other two will be cleaning surfaces," says Catherine.

Nobody says anything. "I'll do the dishes," I say quickly.

"Fabulous, anyone want to help with the dishes?"

And before he even opens his mouth to volunteer, he puts his arm back around my shoulder and squeezes tightly. "I will."

What game is he playing? Why is he winding me up? I can't cope with even being in his presence let alone having his arm around me, playing happy families. _Hold it together, Tobias. You're stronger now._

"Okay great," she says, unaware of the utter hatred I feel for the man I once called father.

We get to work right away. I wash, he dries. He allows the silence for a little while as I wash and pass the pots onto him to dry, but sooner or later he decides to speak. "So how are you, Tobias?" he asks. His cheery tone mocks me. He knows _exactly _how I feel about him and I am _not _in the mood for a heart-to-heart.

"I'd prefer it if you call me Four, Marcus," I say, through clenched teeth.

He sniggers. "Oh yes sorry, I forgot about your ridiculous surname, _Four._"

I don't allow myself to react. I just rinse off the plate I'm holding and pass it to him.

"Why do they call you then, ey?"

"Oh, come on Four, aren't you going to have a chat with your old dad?"

I almost turn to him and whack him unconscious. "You lost the right to that title a long time ago, Marcus," I hiss.

He chuckles from beside me, infuriating me to a level I've never experienced before. And to put lightly, I snapped. "_What are you laughing at?" _I say, my voice increasing in volume. He doesn't reply. "I said _what are you laughing at?!" _And before I have time to think of the consequences, I shove him backwards.

Before he even has time to reply, Catherine appears beside me. "What's going on here?" she asks, her arms are folded over her chest and her lips pressed into a firm line.

"Nothing," I say turning back to the dishes to wash the last plate.

"Well from what I just saw you pushed this gentleman here," she says, raising an eyebrow.

"It's fine, really," Marcus says, offering her a smile which she doesn't bother to return.

"Well if I see any more behaviour like that I'll be forced to report it, do you understand?" she says, narrowing her eyes at me.

If only she knew. If only everyone knew what he was really like. The thought that she sees him as the victim angers me greatly. "Can I go now?" I mumble. My hands clenched into fists by my sides.

"Yes," she says. "Thankyou for your help Four." I storm out of the kitchen. _How dare he try and talk to me like that as if we were friends or something?! I hate him. He's got everyone wrapped around his little finger and I can't take it much longer. _

I wander into the dining room a little while later in the hopes of finding Tris. The anger has now died down and now all I've been left with is this utter frustration with the way things were handled. I hate how petty they were about it. Me beating Drew to a pulp was overlooked in Dauntless, yet here, if I merely shove Marcus, I'm put on warning. I'm now certain that we will not be staying here.

I walk in to find Tris looking rather disinterested at a table full of Abnegation. I walk over and take a seat beside her. She picks up on my annoyance immediately.

"What's up?" she asks.

"In their enthusiasm for conflict resolution, the Amity have apparently forgotten that meddling creates more conflict," I say, the anger building inside of me. "If we stay here much longer, I am going to punch someone, and it's not going to be pretty."

I notice Caleb and Susan stop talking and raise their eyebrows at me disapprovingly as well as the Amity around us who shoot me shocked glances. "You heard me," I say, glaring at the few people around me.

"As I said, what happened?" Tris asks.

I rest my face in my hands. "I'll tell you later."

I lift my head from my hands just in time to see Marcus place his hand on Tris' shoulder causing her to wince in pain from the bullet wound inflicted on her arm. My body stiffens immediately at the thought of Marcus hurting her. I suddenly realise that maybe a fear even greater than Marcus hurting me, is in fact Marcus hurting her. The thought sickens me deeply.

"She got shot in that shoulder," I say, my teeth clenched.

"My apologies!" he says. "Hello." He takes a seat beside her.

It takes every bit of self control not to lash out at him. His very presence infuriates me beyond words.

"What do you want?" Tris asks. I'm glad she knows what Marcus did to me. I'm glad she isn't trusting of him like the others. I'm glad that she knows my secret, despite how vunerable it makes me feel.

"Beatrice," Susan says quietly. "There's no need to—."

"Susan, please," says Caleb quietly. She presses her lips into a line and looks away.

Tris turns back to Marcus and stares at him levelly. "I asked you a question," she says firmly. I wish I was as brave as she is.

"I would like to discuss something with you," says Marcus. His expression is calm, but he's angry—the terseness in his voice betrays him. "The other Abnegation and myself have discussed it and decided that we should not stay here. We believe that, given the inevitability of further conflict in our city, it would be selfish of us to stay here while what remains of our faction is inside that fence. We would like to request that you escort us."

And as little as I'd like to admit it, Marcus is right. We must go. I sit awkwardly, my eyes fixed on the table.

"What do you think?" she asks. I lift my head.

"I think... we should leave the day after tomorrow."

Marcus thanks us quickly and goes to sit with his loyal band of Abnegation admirers. I let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding, filling my lungs with the oxygen I was lacking. I feel my heartbeat everywhere. Oh how I wish he didn't have this effect on me.

Suddenly, I feel a cold hand press against mine beneath the table. _Tris. _I take it firmly and she gives my hand a comforting squeeze. Suddenly, all of the tenseness escapes me, leaving me feeling nothing but tingly inside. I sigh quietly. Her comfort is all I needed. I just needed that little reminder that she was still there for me. I guess I need her even more than I thought I did.


	5. Chapter 5

**I already posted this chapter but I realised I missed a bit of it out so this is the updated chapter including the scene before it which I previously missed out. Feel free to leave a review x**

That night I am awoken by the familiar sound of my bedroom door creaking open. I sit up with a start, squinting in the darkness in an attempt to identify my intruder. My eyes widen when I see that the intruder is in fact, Tris. I don't even bother to question her visiting me. Her poor posture and her anxious expression make her look more fragile than ever. She must've had a nightmare.

"C'mere," I say sluggishly, shifting myself towards the wall to make room for her in the bed. Only then do I notice her bare legs. I can't help but stare as an unfamiliar need rushes through me which I soon recognise as lust.

She joins me in the bed and lies down so we're face to face. "Bad dream?" I ask softly, bringing my hand to her face in a feeble attempt to console her.

She nods.

"What happened?"

She doesn't answer my question, just shakes her head.

"We're alright you know. You and me. Okay?" I whisper reassuringly. Not just for her. Mostly for myself. "Nothing else is alright. But we are."

"Tobias," she whispers, and presses her lips against mine. The confidence returns to me as it always does when our lips are connected. It's as if _I_ am no longer controlling my body, but the lustrous feelings inside me.

My hands move down her body, gently smoothing over the slight curve of her hips and down her bare, slender legs. She wraps herself around me in response.

Our movements begin to get more insistent and I feel like my entire body is on fire. I don't know if she feels it too, but when my hand slips beneath her shirt, I hear a sigh escape from her body. It fills me with pleasure to know that she is enjoying this as much as I am. I place my hand on her back and press her closer against me. My lips find her neck, determined to hear her sigh once again. She takes a hold of my shirt firmly and twists it within her grasp.

Then suddenly, I feel her relax against me. She leans back and tugs at her shirt, pulling it back over her hips. I feel a little deflated as we lay on our backs, our heavy breaths mixing.

I notice her eyes filling with tears. "Sorry," she murmurs.

"Don't apologize," I say firmly, because she has nothing whatsoever to apologize for. I bring my hand to her cheek and brush away the tears.

"I don't mean to be such a mess," she begins. I can almost hear her choking back the tears."I just feel so..."

I know. I know how she feels. "It's wrong. It doesn't matter if your parents are in a better place- they aren't here with you, and that's _wrong_ Tris. It shouldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened to you. And anyone who tells you it's okay is a liar."

A sob escapes her body as I wrap my arms around her tightly. Determined to protect her from the thoughts inside her head.

And it's there as she's laying, cradled in my arms that I realise how much I actually love her. I knew it before but I know it better now. I feel that now, with her tears soaked through my shirt and her fragile body encased within my arms, that I truly know what loving someone entitles.

And so as she sleeps soundly, I tell her I love her. I tell her because it's true. Because I want her to know. Because I have never been as certain about anything before in my life until now as I confess my love for the broken girl encased within my arms.

The next morning, I wake feeling oddly refreshed. No nightmares. No sweating. I feel _fine._.. I carefully untangle myself from Tris' grasp before going to the bathroom to clean up.

I'm almost done shaving when I notice a pair of eyes trained on me. "Good morning," I say. "How did you sleep?"

"Okay," she replies hoarsely.

I hear the rustling of the sheets as she clambers out of the bed. I've just about finished shaving when I feel her fragile arms encircle the circumference of my waist. I sigh and set down the razor before folding my hands over hers. For a moment everything is quiet. Her gentle breathing sounds in my ear with each rise of chest against my back.

"I should go get ready," she says eventually, breaking the silence.

I turn around and rest the backs of my hands against the sink. "I'll get you something to wear."

I end up giving her a pair of red shorts I borrowed from the Amity (though they're practically like trousers on her) and a shirt, which she refused.

I've just gotten changed and brushed my teeth when I hear a loud scream sound through the halls. I get up quickly and race through the halls to where the sound seemed to have sourced from. My heart drops to my stomach when I see that the commotion seems to be coming from just outside Tris' room.

The panicked feeling rising in my chest suddenly plummets to disappointment when I see that Tris isn't the victim in this case. I see her throwing punches at Peter who is grunting and groaning on the floor, his face contorted with pain. It feels strange to see her like this after seeing her so vulnerable last night which tells me she must've been provoked.

"Tris! Calm down!" I yell, pushing through the crowd of Amity gathered around them.

"He has the hard drive!" she yells. "He stole it from me, he has it!"

I sigh. _Is she being serious? I thought I taught her better than this._ I walk over to Peter, ignoring the woman crouched beside him and place my foot firmly over his torso, keeping him firmly in place. I bend down, reach into Peter's pocket and retrieve the hard drive. "We won't be in a safe house forever, and this wasn't very smart of you," I mutter quietly into his ear. I turn to Tris. "Not very smart of you either. Do you want to get us kicked out?" She scowls. She hates being scolded but she really does need it sometimes. I can't always be Tobias, sometimes I need to be her trainer, Four.

One of the Amity takes her arm firmly and begins to lead her down the hallway as she wriggles and squirms disobediently. "What do you think you're doing?! Let go of me!"

"You violated the terms of our peace agreement. We must follow protocol," the man replies calmly.

She turns to me, probably expecting me to back her up. I, however, know that kicking up a fuss won't help and she needs to learn her lesson. "Just go," I sigh. "You need to cool down."

I watch, along with the group of Amity, as she is carried away into a room at the other end of the hallway.

"I'm going to take a walk," I say, before turning on my heel and making my way towards the orchard.

I've only been outside a short while when I hear someone calling me from behind. I turn to see Tris wandering through the orchard clumsily.

"Four, where are you?" she calls, as she walks right past me.

"Tris?" I say, ducking beneath one of the branches. _What's got into her?_

She giggles lightly and I know something's wrong. Tris doesn't _giggle_. She's barely even been smiling at all since the war on Abnegation.

It's as if she's lost all sense of self-awareness as she lurches towards me. I instinctively place my hands on her waist, steadying her.

"What did they-," I begin, but she stops my words with a kiss. I kiss her back quickly, desperate to know what on earth they have done to my girlfriend.

She pulls away with a loud sigh. "That was lame," she says. _Lame? Seriously?_"Okay, no it wasn't but..."

She stands on her tiptoes to kiss me again, but I stop her in her tracks. "Tris, what did they do to you? You're acting like a lunatic."

"That's not very nice of you to say," she replies, strangely cheery. "They put me in a good mood, that's all. And now I really want to kiss you, so if you could just _relax-..."_

I look at her sternly. "I'm not going to kiss you. I'm going to figure out what's going on."

She looks at me a second, her eyes wide, her lips pouted, as if to make me feel sorry for her. Suddenly a large, strange grin spreads across her face.

"That's why you like me!" she cries. "Because you're not very nice _either_! It makes so much more sense now."

I sigh in exasperation. "Come on, we're going to see Johanna."

"I like you too." she says giddily.

"That's encouraging," I reply flatly. "Come _on._Oh. For God's sake. I'll just carry you."

I swing her up into my arms and then round onto my hip. I carry her steadily as she wraps both arms around my neck and plants a kiss on my cheek.

When we finally reach Johanna's office, she looks up at us in surprise.

"You really shouldn't cover up your scar," Tris begins. _Oh dear God what is she going to say_. "You look prettier with your hair out of your face."

I sigh and put her down heavily and once again, she splutters with laughter. I look at her in annoyance, then to Johanna. "What did you do to her?" I say angrily. "What in God's name did you do?!"

"I..." she frowns at Tris. "They must have given her too much. She's very small; they probably didn't tale her height and weight into account."

"They must have given her too much of _what?_" I say impatiently.

"You have a very nice voice," she chirps from beside me.

"Tris, please be quiet," I say, my voice steady, trying my hardest not to get frustrated.

I look back to Johanna. "The peace serum," she says. "In small doses, it has a mild, calming effect and improves the mood. The only side effect is some slight dizziness. We administer it to members of our community who have trouble keeping the peace."

I snort in disbelief. "I am _not_an idiot. _Every_member of your community has trouble keeping the peace, because they are all human. You probably dump it into the water supply."

Johanna remains silent for a second and folds her hands in front of her. "Clearly, you know that is not the case, or this conflict would not have occurred," she says. "But whatever we agree to do here, we do together, as a faction. If I could give the serum to everyone in this city, I would. You would certainly not be in the situation you are not if I had."

"Oh definitely," I say sarcastically. "Drugging the entire population is the best solution to our problem. Great plan."

"Sarcasm is not kind Four," she says gently. I glare back. "Now I am sorry about the mistake in giving too much to Tris, I really am. But she violated the terms of our agreement, and I'm afraid that you might not be able to stay here much longer as a result. The conflict between her and the boy- Peter- is not something we can forget."

"Don't worry," I say calmly. "We intend to leave as soon as humanly possible."

"Good," she replies with a small smile. "Peace between Amity and Dauntless can only happen when we maintain out distance from each other."

"That explains a lot."

"Excuse me?" she says. "What are you insinuating?"

"It explains," I say, gritting my teeth, "why under a pretence of neutrality- as if such a thing is possible!- you have left us to die at the hands of the Erudite."

She sighs quietly as I wait impatiently for my reply.

"The Amity wouldn't do something like that." It's Tris who speaks. "That's _mean."_

We both ignore her feeble input to the conversation. "It is for the sake of peace that we remain uninvolved-," she begins but I don't let her get far.

"Peace." I spit. The anger rising inside of me. "Yes I'm sure it will be very peaceful when we are all either dead or cowering in submission under the threat of mind control or stuck in an endless simulation."

I glare at her waiting for her reply. "The decision was not mine to make. If it was, perhaps we would be having a different conversation right now."

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you saying you disagree with them?"

"I am saying that it isn't my place to disagree with my faction publicly, but I might, in the privacy of my own heart."

I don't bother to reply to what she said. She is passing the blame. If she truly disagreed with their choices she should've persuaded them otherwise. I can barely even look at her.

"Tris and I will be gone in two days. I hope your faction doesn't change their decision to make this compound a safe house."

"Our decisions are not easily unmade. What about Peter?"

_As if I care what they do with Peter._"You'll have to deal with him separately," I reply. "Because he won't be coming with us."

I reach out and take Tris' hand in mine firmly. "Four, if you and your friends would like to remain untouched by the serum, you may want to avoid the bread." I thank her quickly before marching Tris out of the room angrily.

I've had enough of this place.


	6. Chapter 6

**Next chapter! Hope you like it**

I lock Tris in her room for the remainder of the day, checking up on her every hour. Her usually stubborn self has been replaced by a much more theatrical person whom I was rapidly growing tired of. Her short attention span and her harmless eccentricity would've been somewhat amusing to me if it hadn't have been for the previous events.

It was about the 5th time I'd checked up on her when I see that instead of her sitting idly playing with her hair, she is sat, cross legged on the bed glaring at the wall.

"Thank God," I breathe, pressing my forehead against the door in relief. "I was beginning to think it would never wear off and I would have to leave you here to... smell flowers, or whatever you wanted to do while you were on that stuff."

"I'll kill them," she says brusquely. "I will _kill _them."

"Don't bother," I reply. "We're leaving soon anyway." I shut the bedroom door and pull out the hard drive from my back pocket. "I thought we could hide this behind your dresser."

"That's where it was before."

"Yeah, and that's why Peter won't look for it here again." I pull the dresser away from the wall effortlessly with my free hand and wedge the hard drive behind it with the other.

"Why couldn't I fight the peace serum?"she asks. "If my brain is weird enough to resist the simulation serum, why not this one?"

"I don't know really," I reply, taking a seat next to her on the bed. "Maybe in order to fight off the serum you have to _want _to."

"Well obviously I _wanted _to," she says, though without conviction.

I watch as she frowns in thought, her forehead wrinkling. I slip my arm round her shoulder lightly, being careful not to brush across her injury. "Sometimes," I say quietly. "People just want to be happy, even if it's not real."

"You might be right," she admits.

"Are you _conceding_?" I say, my jaw slack with mock surprise. "Seems like that serum did you _some _good after all..."

She shoves me playfully. "Take that back. Take it back _now_."

I laugh and put my hands in the air. "Okay, okay! It's just I'm not very nice either, you know. That's why I like you so-."

"Out!" she yells, pointing to the door, though a smile is playing on her lips.

I laugh, kiss her gently on the cheek and walk out of the door obediently.

I find myself getting really quite bored in Amity which is something I didn't have to deal with in Dauntless. With the absence of Zeke, I find myself aimlessly wandering around the halls all too often. There's nothing to do really, there's no chasm for me to sit by and there's no one to train. I find myself wondering what Tris is doing when I'm not around.

After a while I decide to go and eat, which is what usually happens when I'm bored. I knock on Tris' door on the way, but she isn't there so I find myself sitting at a dinner table with Caleb and Susan who are exchanging small talk over their bowls of soup.

Just as I'm finishing up, I see Tris barge into the cafeteria through my peripheral vision. She's sweaty and panting breathlessly. She looks a little dazed so I take her shoulder to steady her.

"Erudite," she breathes.

My shoulders stiffen. "Coming here?"

She nods.

"Do we have time to run?" I ask, getting to my feet.

She just looks at me and I know she can't answer my question. By now, the Abnegation at the end of the table are listening intently. They also get to their feet and gather around us.

"Why do we need to run?" Susan says. "The Amity established this place as a safe house. No conflict allowed."

"The Amity will have trouble enforcing that policy." Marcus. "How do you stop conflict without conflict?"

Susan nods.

"But we can't leave," Peter says. "We don't have time they'll see us."

"Tris has a gun," I add. "We can try to fight our way out." I don't wait to see their reactions to my suggestion, just start making my way towards the dormitories. Secretly glad for the bit of excitement.

"Wait," Tris says. "I have an idea." I turn to her as she scans the crowd. "Disguises. The Erudite don't know for sure that we're still here. We can pretend to be Amity."

"Those of us who aren't dressed like Amity should go to the dormitories, then," says Marcus. "The rest of you, put your hair down; try to mimic their behaviour."

The Abnegation dressed in grey begin to file out of the dining hall obediently. I follow after them, change into red and once in the halls, begin stuffing the grey clothing into the trash bin.

"Do you think the Amity will lie for us?" Tris asks. She's now dressed in a baggy red shirt.

"To prevent conflict?" I nod. "Absolutely."

I notice her taking in my new appearance. "Nice shirt," she muses.

I scowl. "It was the only think that covered up the neck tattoo, okay?"

She flashes me a smile.

The purr of the Erudite cars pulling into the compound distracts me from the task at hand. There are five all silver with black roofs. I quickly try to secure the latch on the trash bin before they realise what we are doing.

The doors of the cars pop open and I take Tris' hand firmly and lead her to the dormitory. "I didn't think our faction would be that stupid," I say. "You have the gun, right?"

"Yes. But there's no guarantee I can fire it with any accuracy with my left hand."

"You should work on that," I say quickly.

"I will," her voice is small. "If we live."

I run my hand up her arm reassuringly. "Just bounce a little when you walk," I plant a kiss on her forehead. "And pretend you're afraid of their guns," another kiss between her eyebrows "and act like the shrinking violet you could never be." I kiss her cheek "and you'll be fine."

"Okay," she says, and pulls my mouth down on hers. I hold her firmly in my arms and despite my reluctance to let go, I know we must hurry. I say a small prayer in my head that she'll be okay and pull away.

A loud bell sounds through the compound, the one which summons us all to the dining hall. We join the crowd of Abnegation-turned-Amity. I notice Tris talking to an older woman and a few seconds later, a small game of tag starts at the front of the crowd. I don't join in, though I keep the bounce in my step and a small smile on my lips.

When we arrive at the dining hall, there are two Dauntless traitors standing by the door, their guns in hand. I don't allow myself to stiffen, but I suddenly feel exposed. Without a weapon, I am helpless.

When we get inside, I sit across from Tris on one of the long tables. We exchange glances every so often, her smile is believable but her eyes are filled with dread.

Eventually, Johanna saunters into the hall followed by an Erudite woman dressed in bright blue. She looks around the room as she speaks to Johanna but her eyes don't settle anywhere as she scans the crowd.

Somebody bangs loudly on a table top, successfully silencing the hall. "Our Erudite and Dauntless friends are looking for some people," Johanna says. "Several members of Abnegation, three members of Dauntless, and a former Erudite initiate." She smiles. "In the interest of full cooperation, I told them that the people they were looking for were, in fact, here, but have since moved on. They would like permission to search the premises, which means we have to vote. Does anyone object to a search?"

The hall stays silent, just as I expected. It's dangerous to speak up. Johanna nods to the Erudite woman. "Three of you stick around," the woman says to the Dauntless guards clustered by the entrance. "The rest of you search all the buildings and report back if you find anything. Go."

To my relief, nobody seems to take much notice to Tris. She's small and nothing Dauntless stands out about her. I however, am a different story, though I'm doing my best to loosen out, I notice several pairs of eyes are on me. One of the women stops behind me.

"Your hair is pretty short for an Amity," she says, her arms folded over her chest.

"It's hot," I say quickly, though the words don't come out quite the way I wanted.

I brace myself, I brace myself for whatever will happen next. The second I feel her finger tugging at the collar of my shirt, I turn. I grab her wrist and yank her forward with all my might. She hits her head hard against the edge of the table and falls. I hear a gun go off across the room and a scream.

I grab the Dauntless woman and wrench her to her feet. I snatch her gun and use her to shield me as I fire at the Dauntless soldier across the room. "Tris!" I yell. "A little help here?"

I don't even turn to look at her as I continue to fire. I have to trust her to protect herself. I do however, turn when I see that Caleb has taken Tris' gun and is firing at the Dauntless' leg. He drops and clutches his wound. I lower my gun and end his pain with a bullet to the head.

I turn my gun on the Erudite woman. "Say another word, and I'll shoot."

"Whoever's with us should start running," I say. My words fill the otherwise quiet room.

All at once, the Abnegation start towards the door, along with Tris and Peter. Suddenly, I hear a gunfire but the bullet hits the wall. Tris and Peter, I notice are on the floor. I turn to where the gunshot came from. "Put the gun down," I say fiercely. "I have _very _good aim, and I'm betting that you don't."

She drops her gun and I start towards the door, walking backwards so I can keep my gun on the Erudite woman. At the last second, I slam the door shut between me and her.

And we run. My heart beats rapidly against my chest. My body is hot and sweaty. My legs move backwards and forwards, backwards and forwards in a mad rush.

We sprint down the orchard. We hear the commotion going on behind us but turning around would slow us down, and every second is vital. Tris and I are at the front of the crowd and as soon as I find myself close enough, I close my hand around hers.

The cars soon catch up to us and someone yells for us to split up. We do so obediently, Tris, Caleb, Susan and I run over the cornstalks. There are screams not far behind us, thumps and screams and gunshots. I have no choice but to ignore them, we cannot save them now and if we try we will most likely die too.

Eventually, we reach the fence. I don't waste any time, running my hands along it, pushing at it until I find a hole. I hold the chain links back so the others can crawl through and then follow them through.

I pull Tris to my side roughly and begin forward.

"I have to... stop..." It's Susan who speaks.

So we stop. We are at a safe distance from the Dauntless now. Susan collapses on the ground, sobbing. Caleb crouches beside her, murmuring words of reassurance.

Now that we have stopped running, all my emotions return to me. I turn to her. "What was that, Tris?"

"What?" she says. Her voice is weak.

My anger rises in me. I thought I trained her better than that. She needs to hear it, she needs to know that if she does that again she could be dead. "You froze! Someone was about to kill you and you just _sat _there!" I'm yelling now, but I don't stop. "I thought I could rely on you at least to save your own life!"

"Hey," says Caleb. "Give her a break, all right?"

"No," I say, staring at her. "She doesn't _need_ a break." I inhale deeply and allow myself to relax slightly. "What happened?"

She looks at me weakly and clears her throat. "I panicked," she says. "It won't happen again."

I raise an eyebrow.

"It won't," she says, louder this time.

"Okay," I say. "We have to get somewhere safe. They'll regroup and start looking for us."

"You think they care that much about us?" she asks.

"Us, yes. We were probably the only ones they were really after, apart from Marcus, who is most likely dead."

"Tobias," she begins but nothing follows.

I know what she's thinking. The way I am showing no signs of grief for my father who I expect is dead. But I don't feel anything. I can't physically feel any remorse for such a vile human being.

"Time to go," I say quickly and start forward once again, to where, I don't really know.


	7. Chapter 7

**I never know when I should update these things, so I'm sorry if I take too long! Also did anyone see the city of bones the other day? It was great. I think Lily and Jamie are perfect for Clary and Jace. I can't wait for city of ashes! Anyway thanks for waiting, this is chapter 7 which is chapter 8 in the book (I'm not sure how that happened). Please take a moment to give your opinion in the reviews, I love knowing that people are reading**

We follow the rail tracks to the city. I walk along the rail, concentrating only on my balance. Suddenly, a low groan sounds, breaking my concentration. I jump down, and land not so gracefully beside Tris.

"It's coming," she says, brushing her hands on the front of her jeans. "I think we should get on."

"Even if it's run by the Erudite?" Caleb asks.

"If the Erudite were running the train, they would've taken it to the Amity compound to look for us," I say patiently. "I think it's worth the risk. We'll be able to hide in the city. Here, we're just waiting for them to find us."

We all manoeuvre ourselves from the tracks and wait to board the train. I hear Caleb speaking to Susan, I can't tell what he's saying but judging by his hand gestures and tone of voice, it sounds like he's giving her instructions.

The first car shoots past us, but we don't let it get far. I don't run _quite _as fast as I could've to ensure that Tris makes it on first. She runs a little further before flinging herself onto the train floor, before Caleb reaches out and helps her regain her balance. I take a hold of the handle bar and swing myself in after her, my hand on my gun secured in my belt. I look up to see that we aren't the only ones with weapons. A man stands in front of me, pointing a gun at my torso. The factionless.

"I've never seen the Amity armed before," a woman says, brandishing a knife.

I don't say anything, just keep my eyes steadily on the man in front of me, not really taking anything in.

"They aren't Amity," he says accusingly. "They're dauntless."

It suddenly clicks. _Edward. _I trained that kid to fight. He was pretty good at it as well...

"Hello Edward," Tris says, just as my thoughts are becoming complete.

"Tris," he addresses, turning a little to look at her, though his gun remains where it is.

"Whatever you are," the woman says, "you'll have to get off this train if you want to stay alive."

I remain silent, which is probably a bad idea because Susan speaks up, her voice shaking with desperation. "Please. We've been running... and the rest of them are dead and I don't..." she lets out a sob. "I don't think I can keep going... I-,"

I hold back the urge to roll my eyes. I know I should probably be more sympathetic since this is all new to her, but all she seems to be doing is slowing us down. I don't react though, maybe I'm just being irritable.

"We're running from the Erudite," says Caleb. "If we get off, it will be easier for them to find us. So we'd appreciate it if you let us ride into the city with you."

"Yeah," Edward replies. "And what have you ever done for us?"

"I helped you when no one else would," Tris says quickly. "Remember?"

"You maybe," he says, dragging out the maybe. "But the others?" he gestures to us, "not so much."

I decide now would be best to speak up. I've waited long enough. I _need _to stay on this train. I step forward in one long stride, the barrel of the gun millimetres away from my throat. My voice is firm when I say; "my name is Tobias Eaton, I don't think you want to push me off of this train."

I watch carefully as they lower their weapons and exchange meaningful looks. "Eaton, really?" Edward says, eyebrows raised. "I have to admit, I did _not _see that coming."

He clears his throat as I wait with bated breath. I can only hope that he doesn't mention anything about my mother just yet. "Fine you can come. But when we get to the city you've got to come with us." He smiles a little then, nothing to sinister, but again, if he brings up my mother... "We know someone who's looking for you, Tobias Eaton."

Tris and I sit at the end of the cart. My mind is going crazy. A part of me doesn't want to see her. A big part of me that is. I want to block her out of my life completely and never set eyes on her again. I want to leave her the way she left me.

Another part of me, however, wants more than _anything _to see her. To yell at her for leaving me, to tell her she had no_ right_ to try and contact me again after what she did. I want to make her feel guilty about what she's done to me.

And since we're on our way to seeing her, I guess I'll have to go with the second option.

"Do you know who it is?" Tris' voice stops my train of thought. Only then do I realise that my fists are clenched tightly.

I nod.

"Who, then?"

"It's hard to explain," I say quickly. Which is a lie because it's actually all too easy to explain. "I have a lot to tell you." The second part is true.

To my surprise, she leans against me. Her head resting on my right shoulder.

"Yeah," she breathes. "So do I."

A little while later, the factionless tell us it's time to be getting off. This place hits me with a stab of unwelcomed recognition. _Abnegation_. I'd forgotten this was near where the factionless stayed. Seeing it again makes my hands curl into fists in my lap. The memories of my home and Marcus sweep over me and I have to take a deep breath to steady myself before I get to my feet.

"What if we get hurt," Susan snivels.

Tris takes her hand reassuringly. "We'll jump together, you and me. I've done this a dozen times and never got hurt."

I can't help but envy her patience.

"On three," she says. "One...two...three!"

They leap from the train's edge, hand in hand. I don't wait any longer before throwing myself off right after them. I look over to see that everyone has managed to jump successfully, except for Susan, who is being helped up by Caleb.

We follow the factionless a few metres behind, Caleb and Susan a metre or so in front of us.

I look at Tris and bring my hand gently to her shoulder. "It's been a while since I checked that shoulder. How is it?"

"Okay," she replies. "I brought the pain medicine, luckily." She pauses. "I don't think I'm letting it heal very well. I keep using my arm, or landing on it."

"There'll be plenty of time for healing once this is all over."

"Yeah."

Our somewhat light conversation sets my mind at ease momentarily before I realise that where we are going could potentially be dangerous. I pull a knife from my back pocket and hand it to her. "Here. Just in case."

She doesn't say anything, just gives me a small grateful smile and fits it into her pocket.

We turn left onto an alleyway as the smell of garbage hits me, the kind of smell that will cling to my olfactory senses even after we've left the place. The stench so thick and cloying that I disgustedly expect the smell will permeate not only my clothes, by my skin as well.

I knew the factionless were in bad conditions but this, well this is something else entirely. Edward comes to a stop outside one of the grimy brick buildings and yanks open the door. We follow soundlessly into a large dank room. My eyes slowly adjust to see that the room is full of people.

They all sit around in small groups, talking and drinking and eating cold, canned food. It's strange to see everyone wearing a variety of clothes, black and grey and red and yellow, all the colours of the different factions. Whatever they could get their hands on, I expect.

"Come on," Edward says eventually. "She's back here."

My stomach tightens at that. I'm still thinking of a quick way to explain all this to Tris. I'm a little worried that she'll freak out in front of Evelyn.

"What's going on here? Why are you all together like this?" Tris says suddenly.

"You thought they- we- were all split up," Edward replies. "Well they were, for a while. Too hungry to do much of anything except look for food. But then the stiffs started giving them food, clothes, tools, everything. And they got stronger, and waited. They were like that when I found them, and they welcomed me."

I'm too anxious to process what anyone's saying anymore. My mind's racing once again and I feel a little nauseous. I suddenly realise I'd been subconsciously gnawing at my gums, which are now bleeding.

Edwards stop again, at another door. My heart is hammering against my chest, my jaw clenched.

"Wait, you say they were waiting?" says Caleb. "What were they waiting _for _exactly?"

"For the world to fall apart," Edward says. "And now it has."

He pushes open the door and there, a few metres away from us, is to my surprise, not Evelyn, but another lady.

"Strays?" she says.

"Not hardly, Therese." He points to me without even turning his head. "This one's Tobias Eaton."

Therese jut stares at me, her expression unreadable. "He certainly is. Hold on." And she shuts the door once again.

I swallow hard, my throat feel like sandpaper. My heart feels like a rock, slamming against my ribs at a rapid pace.

"You know who she's going to get, don't you?" says Caleb accusingly.

"Caleb," I say, suppressing my anxiety as best I can. "Please shut up."

The door swings open again and Therese steps back to let us into the room. It's dark but I don't let that distract me. The fog in my head suddenly clears though when I see her. Evelyn. My _mom_. I reach out and take Tris' hand quickly. I realise I'm probably squeezing too hard, but she doesn't say anything if I am. "Evelyn," I say, my voice trembling a little more than I hoped it would.

I feel Tris' grip on my hand loosen slightly. I freeze. I can feel her eyes fixed on me. As if her stare is a branding iron marking "liar" onto my skin for everyone to see. I hope she lets me explain.

"Hello," she walks around the table, her eyes trained on me. "You look older."

"Yes. Well, the passage of time tends to do that to a person," I say, my voice dripping in sarcasm.

She smiles. "So you've finally come—"

"Not for the reason you think," I say quickly. My heart rate has slowed down a little. "We're running from the Erudite, and the only chance of escape we had required me to tell your poorly armed lackey's my name."

_Oh, if looks could kill. _She glares at me, and I glare back with no other way to express my anger at this moment in time.

"I see," she says slowly, a humourless smile playing upon her lips. "Introduce me to your fellow refugees then."

I look down to our joined hands and quickly untangle our fingers. "This is Tris Prior," I say gesturing. "Her brother Caleb. And their friend Susan Black."

"Prior," she says thoughtfully. "I know of several Priors, but none of them are named Tris. Beatrice however..."

"Well," Tris says, her ever present stubbornness apparent in her tone. "I know of several living Eatons, but none of them are named Evelyn."

"Evelyn Johnson is the name I prefer. Particularly amongst a pack of Abnegation."

"Tris is the name _I _prefer," she retorts. "And we're not Abnegation. Not all of us, anyway."

Evelyn gives me a look. "Interesting friends you've made."

"Those are population counts?" says Caleb from behind me. _Again with the questions. "_And what? Factionless safe houses?" he points to the first line on the chart. "I mean, these places on the map? They're safe houses, like this one, right?"

"That's a lot of questions," says Evelyn. "For security purposes, I will not answer any of them. Anyway, it is time for dinner."

We begin to file out of the door. Caleb and Susan at the front, walk side by side. Tris follows after them, but I wait till last. I need a word with Evelyn.

"I'm not stupid," she murmurs as I join her side. "I know you want nothing to do with me – though I still don't understand why—"

_Is she being serious. _

"But, I will extend my invitation again. We could use your help here, and I know you are like-minded about the faction system—"

"Evelyn," I say, trying to keep my voice steady. "I chose dauntless."

"Choices can be made again."

I can feel myself losing it. "What makes you think I'm interesting in spending time anywhere _near _you?" I demand, coming to a halt.

"Because I'm your mother," she says self pity apparent in her tone. "Because you're my son."

"You really don't get it," I say lowering my voice. I suddenly feel a dull pain in my stomach. "You don't have the vaguest conception of what you've done to me." I inhale deeply. "I don't want to join up with your little band of factionless. I want to get out of here as quickly as possible."

She scoffs. "My _little _band of factionless is twice the size of Dauntless. You would do well to take it seriously. Its actions may determine the future of this city."

At that, she stalked off, ahead of both Tris and I to the front of the line. Tris slows her pace a little so I can catch up, and join her side.

"How long have you known?" she asks.

"About a year," I say, exhaustion taking over both my limbs and my brain. I slump against the wall with a small sigh and close my eyes. "She sent me a coded message in Dauntless, telling me to meet her at the train yard. I did, because I was curious, and there she was. Alive. It wasn't a happy reunion, as you can probably guess,"

"Why did she leave Abnegation?" Tris asks softly.

"She had an affair," I shake my head. "And no wonder, since my father...". "Well let's just say Marcus wasn't any nicer to her than he was to me."

My head flashes with images of my mother cowering against the kitchen wall as Marcus raised his hands. I could almost hear her pleas of mercy-. I dismiss the image quickly.

"Is... that why you're angry with her? Because she was unfaithful to him?"

"No," I say firmly, opening my eyes. "No, that's not why I'm angry."

She walks towards me carefully, as if she were approaching a vicious dog, being careful not to upset me. "Then why?" her voice is quiet.

"She had to leave my father, I get that. But did she think of taking me with her?" My voice is hard.

"Oh. She left you with _him_."

"Yeah," I say, anger rising inside me. I begin to kick at the concrete floor in frustration. "She did."

Her fingers find mine clumsily. I do nothing but stare down at our joined hands. I know she's trying to comfort me, but I can't seem to get _him _out of my head.

"It seems to me," I say eventually, "that the factionless are better friends that enemies."

"Maybe, but what would the cost of that friendship be?"

I shake my head, unable to think straight. "I don't know, but we may not have any other option."

**Sorry if that chapter was a little boring. I tried to include as much of Tobias' thoughts as I could but there wasn't much room to do so. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry I planned on publishing this a while ago but I'm such a huge procrastinator. Plus I started school again which means I have less time to write ): I'll try to write whenever I can, I promise. Anyway I've decided to make this chapter, both chapter 9 and ten from the book since they're pretty short. I hope you don't mind. Thanks for reading and please continue to give reviews, tips and the constructive criticism is always very much appreciated. So yeah, here we go...**

Despite my low expectations, dinner is a somewhat disappointment. We all sit around a fire, passing round cans of tinned food, dipping our forks and spoons into those which take our fancy. I wouldn't have eaten anything if it wasn't for the painfully hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach.

The others are talking around me, Tris, Edward and Therese but my mind is elsewhere. Outside of this room, outside of the faction, my mind is back in Dauntless. For the first time since we'd left, I allow myself to think. I allow my mind to wonder what has happened to the people I once called my friends. What happened to Zeke? And Uriah? A sudden feeling of remorse washes over me. I hadn't known Zeke long but two and a half years of being around someone... you grow incredibly close. I try to think of the last time I spoke to him, and whether that would be the last time I ever will get to speak to him again. I sigh. I can't seem to remember what those final words were...

I'm suddenly back in the room.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised about Dauntless," Tris mumbles around her mouth full of food.

"Well yeah, you've got one of the worst initiations. And there's that whole old-age thing."

"Old age thing?"

"Once the Dauntless reach a certain level of physical deterioration," he says, a little grimly. "They are asked to leave, in one way or another."

"What's the other way?" I glance at her, her eyes are wide with alarm.

I speak for the first time in what seems like ages. "Let's just say, that for some, death is preferable to factionless."

"Those people are idiots," Edward says dismissively. "I'd rather be factionless than Dauntless."

"How fortunate that you ended up where you did then," I say cuttingly.

"Fortunate?" he snorts. "Yeah. I'm so fortunate, with my one eye and all."

I frown. "I seem to recall hearing rumours that you provoked that attack."

"What are you talking about? He was winning, that's all, and Peter was jealous, so he just..."

She stops. The menacing look on Edwards face tells a different story to the one she recalls.

"There was an inciting incident," he grins. "In which Peter did not come out the victor. But it certainly didn't warrant a butter knife in the eye."

I think of what Zeke had told me of Edward poking fun at Peter and then the fight which followed soon after.

"No arguments here," I say. "If it makes you feel any better, he got shot in the arm from a foot away during the simulation attack."

"Who did that?" he asks, his eyes wide. "You?"

I shake my head. "Tris did."

"Well done," he says with a little nod of his head.

She doesn't reply. Just nods back a little and offers him a small, regretful smile.

I feel the sudden need to change the conversation. "Did all the Dauntless side with Erudite? Has Candor done anything?"

"Dauntless is split in half. Half at Erudite headquarters, half at Candor headquarters. What's left of Abnegation is with us. Nothing much has happened yet. Except for what happened to you, I guess."

I nod. _Zeke._ I'm itching to know of his whereabouts.

The food continues to be passed around, I eat as much as my stomach can manage to build up strength before going off to collect sleeping bags and blankets for us to sleep on. Tris, who was also finishing up around the fire, joins me in an empty corner of the room.

I begin to get ready for bed as best I can. I don't feel particularly comfortable taking off my shirt in front of the eyes of these strange factionless. As I bend over to untie my shoes, I can feel her eyes trained on me. Not in any particular way other than interest. I straighten up as she steps over the sleeping bags and slips her arm around me. Her steady hands slide up my back with a certain tenderness she only allowed for me.

I close my eyes. Her other hand slowly goes up my front and it's all I can do not to press her against the wall and connect our lips once again. My breathing is slow and heavy as she draws herself closer. "I wish we were alone," I say, my voice low and raspy.

"I almost always wish that."

I lay back and absent mindedly stroke her hair until she falls asleep. It takes a while, but her breathing eventually evens out and I gently carefully remove myself from the sleeping bag we'd ended up sharing.

I can see her across the room, talking lightly with a bunch of the factionless whom i expect, she isn't very close to. I walk over, stepping over some of the other people who had decided it was time to sleep. "Hey, Evelyn, can I uh- talk to you for a sec?"

"Of course you can , son," she says calmly. I scowl. She turns to the people she was talking to, wishes them a goodnight and gets to her feet beside me. "Let us speak over by the fire."

Though we still have to whisper, the spitting and crackling of the fire makes our voices almost unheard. "You'll have to tell me what's going on here if you expect me to consider helping you. Though i'm still not sure why you need me at all."

"What would you like to know exactly?" she asks.

I fold my arms and look her steadily in the eyes. "I want to know about the chart. And the map."

"Your friend was correct was correct in thinking that the map and the chart listed all of our safe houses." I pull a face at the word friend, which she clearly notices but chooses to ignore. "He was wrong about the population counts... sort of. The numbers don't document all of the factionless- only certain ones. And I can bet you know which ones they are."

I give her a long, weary look, "I'm not in the mood for guessing."

She breathes a long deep breath. "The Divergent. We're documenting the Divergent."

"How do you know who they are?"

"Before the simulation attack, part of the Abnegation aid effort including testing the factionless for a certain genetic anomaly. Sometimes that testing involved re-administering the aptitude test," she says. "Sometimes it was more complicated than that. But they explained to us that they suspected we might have the highest Divergent population of any group in the city."

I frowned, "I don't understand why-"

She cuts me off and smiles knowingly. "Why would the factionless have a high Divergent population? Obviously those who can't confine themselves to a particular way of thinking would be most likely to leave a faction or fail it's initiation, right?"

I scowl. "That's not what I was going to ask. I want to know why _you _care how many Divergent there are."

"The Erudite are looking for man-power. They found it temporarily in Dauntless. Now they'll be looking for more, and we're the obvious place, unless they figure out that we've got more Divergent than any other group. Just in case they don't, I want you to know how many people we've got who are resistant to simulations."

I suddenly grow tired of the conversation. "Fair enough," I murmur "but why were the Abnegation so concerned with finding the Divergent? It wasn't to help Jeanine was it?"

"Of course not," her voice is quiet, yet sharp. "But I'm afraid I don't know. The Abnegation were reluctant to provide information that only serves to relieve curiosity. They told us as much as they believed we should know."

"Strange," I mumble.

"Perhaps you should ask your father about it," she says. I look up suddenly. "He was the one who told me about you."

"About me," I say, the hostility apparent in my tone, as well as confusion. "What about me?"

"That he suspected you were Divergent, "she says, to my utter horror. "He was always watching you. Noting your behaviour. He was very attentive to you..."

_Yeah when he wasn't causing me deep emotional and physical pain._

"...That's why... that's why I thought you would be safe with him. Safer with him than with me."

I remain silent, my lips pursed in an attempt to hold back from yelling at her furiously, drumming it into her head how unbelievably _wrong _she was. How stupid it was to leave me with such a disgraceful excuse for a father.

"I wish-" she begins.

My hands curl into fists at my side and my whole body quivers. "Don't you _dare _try to apologise," I mutter with enmity. "This is not something you can bandage with a word or two and some hugging, or something."

"Okay," she says, surprisingly calm. "Okay I won't."

"For what purpose, are the factionless uniting?" I say quickly. "What do you intend to do?"

"We want to usurp Erudite. Once we rid of them, there's not much stopping us from controlling the government ourselves."

"That's what you expect me to help you with? Over-throwing one corrupt government and instating some kind of factionless tyranny? Not a chance."

"We don't want to be tyrants," she says. "We want to establish a new society. One without factions."

I think for a second, _is that the world I want to live in? I'm not too sure. _I laugh humourlessly, "right. So how are you doing to usurp Erudite?"

She seems unaffected by my hostility. "Sometimes drastic change requires drastic measures. I imagine it will involve a high level of destruction," she says. "As for why we need you, in order to do this we will need Dauntless help. They have weapons and the combat experience. You could bridge the gap between us and them."

"Do you think I'm important to the Dauntless? Because I'm not. I'm just someone who isn't afraid of much."

"What I'm suggesting is that you _become _important. I'm sure you can find a way if you want to. Think about it."

I watch in silence as she walks away from me to the corner where her sleeping bag is laid. I scowl. I don't want to think about it. I don't want to do anything for her, the woman who abandoned me and lied to me for so many years. So I don't bother. Instead, I go back over to the sleeping bags, shut my eyes tight and will myself to sleep.

I wake up early despite my exhaustion. Feeling disgruntled, I slowly sit up in my sleeping bag and stretch my aching limbs. My mind is a little fuzzy, the last remnants of a dream being chased away by the realisation that I am awake again. It was a senseless dream, something about Zeke and Dauntless and a bunch of other stuff, none of it really pieced together. With a quiet sigh I allow my brain to focus, trying to remember what day of the week it is and where I am and what I'm meant to be doing today... Candor headquarters. Ah yes, today is the day Tris and I are supposed to be visiting Candor for the first time. I'm relieved, in a way. Even though there is so much uncertainty to what it will be like, my bets are that it will be miles better than this filthy place. Plus I could really do with something to eat which _doesn't _come out of a can.

I inch myself out of the covers and straighten up before deciding that a shower would probably be a good idea. It's fairly humid, and the close packed conditions in the room certainly don't help. My shirt is a little damp, as well as my hair.

I find the men's bathroom with ease and to my relief, I see that there is only one other person in there. I go to the faucet furthest away from the other man before stripping myself of all my clothing and turn to face the wall so I can shower with at least a little concealment. The water is hot, perhaps a little too hot but I'm beyond caring. I scrub at my scalp and wash my hair best I can without any soap. The steam envelopes me and I allow myself to turn away from the wall and stand properly in front of the faucet, the hot water turning the lightly tanned skin of my chest a startling pink. I finally withdraw when I hear the bathroom door opening and more men make their way inside. I grab my towel and knot it firmly around my waist, carrying both my dirty clothes and a clean black shirt in my arms.

I dry myself quickly and pull on my underwear, jeans and the black shirt. I walk over to the small, cracked mirror hung lopsidedly on the bathroom wall and peer at my reflection. My hair is damp and ruffled, my face is slightly stubbly and my cheeks are rosy red from the steam of the shower. I leave my dirty red shirt and the towel in the bathroom, knowing I would not return, and made my way out of the bathroom.

Just as I leave the bathroom, my eyes fall on Tris. She looks a little fresher ; she's changed out of the red shirt too and is wearing a one shoulder black shirt and the same pair of jeans she was wearing earlier. She's sat with Caleb and what looks to be a jar of peanut butter. She stops talking when she sees me and raises her head to look at me. I give her a long steady look as if to say "yes, now is our time to go."

I'm glad to be alone with Tris for a while. We don't speak much or do anything in particular but it's nice to just walk side-by-side in comfortable silence with no pressing questions or any matters on our hands. But as we stride up to the huge gates of the Candor headquarters, I know that things are rapidly going to change.

We pause outside the doors and I inhale deeply, "here we go."

We wander into the headquarters apprehensively. The lobby is large, with black marble floor tiles and modern looking furniture. The main reason for our apprehension though, is the fact that it is filled with Dauntless. Each and every one of them clutching a weapon. One of the soldiers approaches us, one arm in a sling and the other arm pointing a gun steadily at the side of my head. "Identify yourselves," she demands.

I don't recognise her but as some other Dauntless gather around, I see some familiar faces. "Four," I say gruffly. "And this is Tris. Both Dauntless."

Her eyes widen a little, though her stare remains steady. "Some help here."

"Is there a problem?" I ask calmly.

"Are you armed?"

I smirk. "Oh course I'm armed. I'm Dauntless, aren't I?"

She gives me a long look. "Put your arms behind your head," she says, she looks on-edge.

Just as I'm about to do just as she asked, Tris speaks up. "We walked through the front door," she says slowly. "You think we would've done that if we were here to hurt you?"

I ignore her comment and touch my fingers to the back of my head as she told us to. Soldiers then begin to surround me, patting at my legs and torso, removing anything which could be of danger to them.

I hear Tris from somewhere beside me. "I have a knife in my back pocket," she says firmly. "Put your hands on me and I'll make you regret it."

I can't help but smile at her fierceness. That smile, however is rapidly dropped when two pairs of arms take hold of me. I look at them in confusion. "What's going on?"

"I'm sorry," the girl says. "But we're ordered to arrest you upon arrival."

**Sorry about this chapter! It's 3am and I'm pretty tired so it's probably not my best writing but I hope it wasn't too bad. Thanks for reading, I'll try to update soon x**


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